Blogs from South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines, Asia

We plant fruit-bearing trees as an expression of our social responsibility. On June 29, 2011, the City of Koronadal in their tree planting project targeted to plant 100,000 seedlings of fruit trees. I am so glad that I am a part of it. Being a consumer of fresh fruits, I can't imagine if all those trees will bear delicious fruits after 3-5 years. I wake up at around 4 a.m. to prepare myself in a half-day activity. The participants were composed of students, employees, members of civic organizations and residents of the city. We convened in the City Hall at around 6 a.m. Our group will be assigned at Nga Bango while others will be in the nearby mountains surrounding Koronadal City. We have to walk from the highway for about 30 minutes to reach Nga ... read more

I am a little bit tired to start an exciting nature trip to Tantangan. It is December 5, 2010. I arrived late at MUTI building located at Osmena St., Koronadal City based on the agreed time which is 6 am. It takes 5 minutes walk from my boarding house. The travel to Tantangan where our initial place to start walking only takes us less than 1 hour travel by truck. Tantangan, where Buayan elementary school is located is a small municipality near Koronadal City. We arrived in a small village with less than 20 households. Most of the inhabitants were muslims. Kids are helping their parents in farming and gathering firewoods. A nice huts made in bamboo and kogon leaves are their common type of house. We have a small talk while walking to the falls. ... read more

I reside in the Socsksargen Area in Mindanao, Philippines. So I'm going to talk about my hometown and its outskirts first of all. I grew up in Gensan, officially known as General Santos City, named after its founder Gen. Paulino Santos. It lies at the southernmost tip of the Philippine map, cradled between mountains and the seas. ------------------------- The article below narrating the history of the city is taken from the Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Santos_City#History HISTORY OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY On February 27, 1939, General Paulino Santos led the first and largest batch of settlers organized under the National Land Settlement Administration to the shores of Sarangani Bay. The 62 pioneers, who mostly came from Luzon, industriously tilled Cotabato's fertile expanse of land. After this first influx of pioneers, thousands more from Luzon and Visayas ... read more

Left my big backpack at the My Hotel reception, they promise to keep an eye on it while I am away for couple days, there's a jeepney that takes you to Ecoland bus terminal outside the hotel, the tip coming from the security guard, took maybe 20 minutes to get there. At the main entrance I waited for Maricar, Olan's friend, she is from Gen San and is willing to show me around her town. We agreed to meet up at 12noon but i have waited for over an hour and no sign of her! I told one of the baggage security guys if anyone asks (assuming it would be her) I am already gone. Some touts guided me to the Yellow bus terminal, then as I was about to get in the bus there was ... read more